They Need To Be Fed is a hugely challenging yet massively fun puzzle game. Manoeuvre your little character towards the level’s monster, where he then serves as a tasty, and surprisingly crunchy, meal!
On screen controls are simple: right, left and jump. The little critter you move remains stuck to the platform he is on, unless you jump and then he gravitates towards the next nearest platform. Time the jumps correctly and you can move all around the level in any direction you wish. The challenge comes with the variety of obstacles in place to immediately atomise your critter. Spikes are one, but as you progress expect tougher dangers such as canons and lasers.
There are 11 worlds in total, and you unlock these by collecting diamonds as you progress. You pretty much need every diamond available to unlock the later levels but with a bit of patience this can be done without too much problem. Each level just needs a little practice to complete and I did feel overall that even with 7 levels per world, the game felt a little on the short side. This issue aside, the game rewards patience and careful control. It really is lots of fun and, while simple to play becomes ever-tougher to fully master.
Fun Factor:
They Need To Be Fed is loads of fun, and navigating the levels, while very often tricky, is very cool. Collecting diamonds might mean you have to revisit the level a few times and the fun-factor is mostly retained despite these revisits.
Addictive:
I think I personally completed the first 5 levels of the game in just a few sittings. It really sucks you in, balancing your inner determination with tricky gameplay that is often nicely frustrating and challenging. I think people who lack patience might find this all a bit too much. It does reward persistence, and I enjoyed it thoroughly, but it does require more attention and patience than other games.
Graphics:
The graphics are bold and colorful and contain a lot of effective detail despite the blankets of color. While not quite as graphically resplendent as World of Goo, it’s in many ways very similar.
Accelerometer, Vibration & Sound:
The music is quite a beaty funk number which works really well with the visuals and gameplay. This is complimented by various sound effects that emanate from the level: collecting diamonds, passing through a progress save, being killed and the triumphant monster chomping that signifies you completed the level.
